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James Deshler
|died = |placeofbirth= Tuscumbia, Alabama |placeofdeath= Chickamauga, Georgia |placeofburial= Oakwood Cemetery, Tuscumbia |placeofburial_label= Place of burial |image = |caption = James Deshler, Brigadier General in the Confederate Army |allegiance =United States of America Confederate States of America |serviceyears=1854–61 (USA) 1861–63 (CSA) |rank = First Lieutenant (USA) Brigadier General (CSA)|commands = |battles =Utah War American Civil War *Battle of Cheat Mountain *Battle of Camp Allegheny *Battle of Fort Hindman *Battle of Chickamauga† |laterwork =Career soldier}} James Deshler (February 18, 1833 – September 20, 1863) was a career United States Army officer and a graduate of West Point. He was a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War and died on the field of battle. Early life and career James Deshler was born in 1833 to David Deshler and Eleanor Taylor. Deshler went to West Point and graduated in 1854. He graduated ranking above J.E.B. Stuart, William Dorsey Pender, and Stephen D. Lee.The Gallant Dead, p. 193. After graduating, James was commissioned as a second lieutenant. His first military experience was when he was assigned to California after graduation.Civil War Tales, pp. 169-70. He was then transferred and promoted to first lieutenant in 1858 and joined a regiment to fight in the Utah War expedition. After the expedition Deshler was assigned to Fort Wise, where he remained until 1861. In 1861 Deshler resigned his post and joined the Confederate States Army. Civil War service After his resignation from the army, Deshler enlisted as a captain in the artillery. In September 1861 he was an assistant to Brig. Gen. Henry R. Jackson during the Battle of Cheat Mountain.Conf. Milt. Hist., pp. 403-05. Deshler was wounded at the Battle of Allegheny Mountain when he was shot through the thighs. After his recovery from his wounds he was promoted to colonel and assigned to the staff of Maj. Gen. Theophilus H. Holmes. In 1862 he was given his first command, which consisted of four regiments of Texas infantry and cavalry, the Tenth Texas Infantry regiment, Fifteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Texas Dismounted Cavalry regiments. On January 11, 1863, Deshler was captured when the Confederates surrendered at the Battle of Fort Hindman. After being exchanged he was promoted to brigadier general on July 28, 1863. Death and burial On the second day of the Battle of Chickamauga on September 20, 1863, while inspecting his brigade before an attack, Deshler was killed instantly by a Union artillery shell when it exploded in front of him, tearing his heart from his body.USWD War., pg. 188. Command of his brigade was taken over by the future Senator Roger Mills, and the Confederacy won the battle. After the fighting ended, a family friend buried Deshler's body on the battlefield. Later the friend brought Deshler's father to the gravesite. They disinterred Deshler and subsequently reburied him in Oakwood Cemetery in his hometown of Tuscumbia, Alabama.Civil War Tales. ,pp. 169-70. Mills remarked after Deshler's death: I may pause here and pay a passing tribute to the memory of our fallen chief. He was brave, generous and kind, even to a fault. Ever watchful and careful for the safety of any member of his command, he was ever ready to peril his own...He poured out his own blood upon the spot watered by the best blood of the brigade. Amongst the host of brave hearts that were offered the altar of sacrifice for their country on that beautiful Sabath, there perished not one, noble, braver, or better than his. He lived beloved, and fell lamented and mourned by every officer and man of his command. Memorials Deshler's father founded the Deshler Female Institute in memory of his son. To further honor General Deshler, Tuscumbia's Deshler High School was named for him. See also *List of American Civil War generals References *Smith, Derek The Gallant Dead: Union and Confederate Generals Killed in the Civil War (2005) pg. 193 *Heart Of Dixie Publishing and William Lindsey McDonalds' Civil War Tales of the Tennessee Valley (2003) pp. 169–170 *United States War Dept, Robert Nicholson Scott, George Breckenridge Davis, Leslie J. Perry, United States War Records Office, Joseph William Kirkley, United States Record and Pension Office, and John Sheldon Moodeys' The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (1890) pg. 188 *Evans, Clement Anselm Confederate Military History: A Library of Confederate States History (1899) pp. 403–405 Notes External links * Retrieved on 2009-04-17 Category:1833 births Category:1863 deaths Category:Confederate States Army generals Category:United States Military Academy alumni Category:United States Army officers Category:People of Alabama in the American Civil War Category:American Civil War prisoners of war Category:American military personnel killed in the American Civil War Category:People from Colbert County, Alabama de:James Deshler